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Religious holidays, traditions and customs


Christmas

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and starts with the Advent season. Together with Easter and Whitsun, it is one of the three main festivals of the Christian Church. The Christmas period extends from the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ on 24 December to the Sunday after Epiphany, the feast which celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men.
 
Observance of the 25th of December as the main religious holiday was first documented in Rome in 336 AD, although the origins of this date are disputed. Christ was born among the poor to emphasise that he had come as the saviour of all mankind. Christians and others around the world celebrate Christmas as the festival of love and peace. These days, this usually takes the form of a family festival where gifts are exchanged.
 
 
 
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